Moving Forward From Dicamba in 2017

 

 

Last year was a year full of disagreement and hostility between many, involving the use of dicamba POST across thousands of acres in the United States and South Dakota. These disagreements across the United States and South Dakota were between farmers, farmers and Companies, farmers and University Weed Scientist, Companies and University Weed Scientist, Companies and Regulatory Agencies and the Non-Ag public against farmers and companies.

 

The South Dakota Department of Ag had 117 cases related to a dicamba of the 170 total investigations. The counties with the most cases related to dicamba in 2017 where Brown, McCook, Minnehaha and Spink with 10 or more cases recorded. Beadle, Brookings, Davison, Turner, Clark, Codington, Lincoln and Ham all had case numbers ranging from 6 to 9 in 2017. Another 22 counties East and West River had 6 or less cases recorded. To put this in perspective in 2015 & 2016, the department of Ag had only 82 investigations dealing with pesticides. In 2017 they saw a 107% increase in pesticide related investigations, which the majority where dicamba related.

 

When we ask “how did this happen?” there are multiple questions that follow. What was the cause of this crop damage? Why hasn’t this been a major issue in the past? Did these certified applicators all of a sudden stop spraying according to the label? Is this a chemical problem or an applicator problem? Or both?